As an instructor, I quickly learned the part analogy and stories play in learning. If something we are trying to learn can be realistically compared to something we already know, then we will assimilate the new information much more quickly.
In looking for a way to explain to myself the amplification of political strife in the last few decades, I hit upon the analogy of basic electricity.
Electricity works because of polarity and potential. Electrons want to move from one pole to the other. The higher the pressure to do that (voltage) the more they will move (amperage). Anything that stops or slows them is (resistance). The key to making electricity work for us is in building that 'potential', or in other words the difference between the poles.
That's what power plants do. They push, or charge, electrons into positive and negative states. These electrons really, REALLY, want to become neutral in charge, and will happily push their way through or around anything they can to do it. That pressure to move is what we know as electricity, and it's a powerful energy we harness for our profit.
Well, that's what social strife is. It's polarity. It's a powerful force separating people from each other, when they want they want nothing more than peace and prosperity without strife. Those who benefit from this polarity have every interest in seeing it continue.
Not just continue, though. When have we ever seen someone who was happy with what wealth and power they have, not wanting more? Well, when one wants more, one causes there to be more so they can have it. That's what power plants do... they make more potential for us to use. That's what politicians and power brokers do... they cause social polarity to happen through strife, hardship, and propaganda.
We can look at the local power plant and ask ourselves 'Who made this, and who profits from it?'. Well, we as a society made that, and we all have better lives because we have access to that power. It heats our homes, lights our lights, cooks our food, and connects our worlds.
We can look at political and social strife and ask ourselves 'Who made this, and who profits from it?'. Well, politicians and evil people make it, and they enjoy the profit of having it. It gives them the power to control, wealth to grasp, and people who listen to their lies.
The one thing we almost never want to see with electricity is for the electrons to come together atomically and become part of neutral atoms. They are happy to stay in that state, and there's no more 'polarity', or push to be harnessed for our personal gain.
The one thing politicians and evil people never want to see is us, the people, coming together in peace. It leaves them no polarity to play off of, and no power to hold over people.
Once we understand that electrical potential is power, we can look for who makes it, who controls it, and who it benefits.
Once we understand that social strife is power, we can look for who makes it, who controls it, and who it benefits.
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